In which I interview a very good friend | collab with listening to the sky

This past weekend it was my great pleasure to make crepes and a pot of tea with a very good friend of mine and then sit across the table on my back porch to discuss art, beauty, and poetry, as well as her new blog, Listening to the Sky.

As a formal-ish introduction, Kailey is a human being (good start) who is very goofy and incredibly serious at the same time (a paradox?). She writes poetry and fiction, is obsessed with Shakespeare, puns, aesthetics, Frankenstein, taking pictures of friends, changing her profile picture, and Spotify playlists. She also has a conspiracy theory about people dropping their toast in the morning causing all of life’s awkward and negative interactions.

I’m also the aunt of her dog who is her baby but also her twin? (It is a bit complicated.)

Oh and I hold the #1 position of best comforter after her husband’s tragic death even though she sued me and my company as liability for the plane crash?

I also have much, much too much blackmail on her and I am sure vis versa. If you ever want to blackmail me, she’s a pretty good place to start.

From now on, transitioning to the transcript, my remarks are in bold. Hers are plain ole plain ole. 😉

*disclaimer: we will not be held accountable for any and all incomprehensible comments, opinions, and thoughts that may or may not be a chocking hazard, and neither we will not be held responsible to explain them if we do deem it undesirable, thank ye kindly*

---

Hullo Kailey, welcome to this side of my blog. First things first, anything pressing you would like to discuss? Anything you would like to shout into the void? Any confessions?

Anything else would you like to say beyond that?

I once had a snail. It was my magnum opus.

Marvelous! How would you introduce yourself to a stranger?

*stares at Evelyn pressing the backspace button on the keyboard violently*

What was the question? How would I introduce myself? It depends on the type of person and the scenario (and I feel like I can feel molasses on the bottom on the cup but every time I scoop for it with my spoon its not there.)

*Kailey proceeds to scrape the bottom of her mug violently*

Have you ever wondered how many people have eaten off of the utensils you have used?

I hate that thank you.

*Evelyn is haunted for the rest of her life*

What are your hobbies?

I like eating crepes and watching the cherry jelly fall off my fork and plop on the plate.

*stares at plate*

*thirty seconds later Evelyn is still typing*

Wait it’s been five minutes why are you still typing I’m not even talking any more. *laughs nervously*

I’m not that fast at typing thank you very much. xD What other hobbies do you have?

Writing, singing in a choir, hiking, and sending thank you notes to people.

And, with people on public transportation figuring out their name just by observation and context clues, figuring out who is Bobby on the subway.

…so you’re a poetic creep.

Yes.

Yes actually. That is accurate.

I am a mellifluous “creep.”

*proceeds to move where she can see over Evelyn’s shoulder*

You spelled ‘your’ wrong.

DON’T QUESTION THE KING’s gRaMmEr.

(Evelyn: okay yes i will go back and fix that thank you.)

(Kailey: i am terrified that i am tasteblind to molasses. that is my biggest fear)

What are your top favorite books? (maybe three or five)

1. The Hiding Place, Corrie ten Boom
2. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
3. Augustine’s Confessions

Those are unique favorite books. Why do you like those?

Because within the period of my life I find myself, those are the books I link the most emotion and depth to. They have changed me to who I am and helped define me to be who I am.

How were you introduced to those books?

Frankenstein because I watched the musical,* Augustine’s Confessions because of school. I’m not sure how I heard about The Hiding Place but I read it and loved it.

(Evelyn: *wHicH side note my sister was in and she was AMAZING and also might have given some audience members nightmares hehe.)

What types of stories do you like to write?

I like writing the types of stories that have emotional depth and that have some sort of coming to age change aspect to them. Not necessarily coming to age stories – they don’t have to change that much – but just for there to be a little change. One of my favorite things is in the Gary Schmidt novels how there are only just small things, but the reader notices. The author doesn’t specifically say, hey this is different, but the readers knows that it is different. So the stories that illustrate the ebbs and flows of life; just sort of the messiness of life and how even though it may not be perfect, it is still good. Stories that kind of illustrate that for the reader and offer a concrete place for the readers to relate to.

Do you like Gary Schmidt? 😉

YES.

So, you’d say that emotional depth is why you like to write stories, but you also write poetry. Who is your favorite poet? (or three)

1. Percy Shelley
2. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
3. Ellis Nightingale

Why do you like their poetry? What stands out to you about their poetry?

For me, I just think abstract poetry confuses me, to an extent where if it’s too abstract I’m confused. It’s like modern art in a sense. So their poetry is still very lyrical and beautiful and sort of abstract, but it just makes sense in a way that most poets don’t. It depends obviously, and I love poetry about nature, which is what they write about mostly.

I notice you still like very creative poetry, with strong images, so that’s not what you mean by that, right?

Right, and no, it’s not like their poetry isn’t like that, but for the way I enjoy words and stories, their poetry makes the most sense to me.

Hm, right. They are very beautiful writers.

Yes! And it’s not that it’s concrete vs. abstract writers… it’s just that they have a certain way with words and images.

I notice that the three of them seem very sincere and… deceptively simple. If that makes sense?

Hmm. Yeah, that’s true.

I know you share on your blog a poem every Monday, from these poets especially, so are there any particular poems are favorites?

I love The Flower that Smiles Today by Percy Shelley, I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and January? I think that one is called by Ellis Nightingale.

*five minute internet search to no avail*

Would you like to make any comment on the fact I mentioned you rated me as the #1 comforter when your husband died and yet you also sued me… do you have any comments on that?

You know, I think that I was very offended by that title you put upon yourself. I thought that there was some patient-doctor confidentiality between us? And that’s not true? So you know what that kind of offended me but it’s fine… it’s fine… I’m better now. It’s fine.

Hmm, I would like to point out for the record that you did tell me to put that on my blog one time before. 😆

I did! That’s true.

You are correct.

…and we just left it there.

Yeah. xD

So, what aspects draw you to a piece of art? Whether that be music, a visual, or literary piece.

Lately, I have been so intrigued by art about the sea, whether that be poetry, or music, or art, especially. And just because I think it’s almost a mystical power we know nothing about… I think we know more about space than the sea, in my opinion, because there could literally be giant creatures down there and we would have no idea, just because we haven’t been there. Like the leviathan.

So to answer your question, if it’s about the sea, I love it! It doesn’t matter what it is, and for others, it just depends.

Is that why your blog has a sea theme? 😉

Yes, that is true! That is why.

I think ever since I read the Odyssey and Moby Dick, because you know I wrote Moby Dick recently-

Wait, you wrote Moby Dick?

…

Yes I wrote Moby Dick, ya know. I’m Herman Melville. That’s meee. I’m also a time travelling. And a shapeshifter.

Well you know, I did take a quiz when I was twelve that guess my age and gender and it thought I was a 77 year-old man.

Why??

Yeah, well I don’t know how old he was, but if he was 77…. he was me.

I’m going to look it up.

*five minutes later*

Never mind, he was 72 when he died.

Oh. When was that?

In 1891.

Okay so that minus 40. He was 32 when he published Moby Dick.

32 is not 77.

This is what you look like:

That is a stunning black and white picture of me. My favorite.

Any comments on the beard?

You know. A man got to do what a man’s got to do. It brought me joy, so I did it.

AnYwAys

What is your favorite song of all time? And/or what is your current favorite song?

My favorite song? Hm. That’s a hard one. I don’t know. For me, for books, it is so easy to figure out whether a book is on my favorites list. I don’t know exactly why, but I know I love the book and every aspect of it. But with songs, it’s not like that and it’s so hard for me when people ask what my favorite song is. I’d say it’s similar to when someone asks most bookworms/nerds what their favorite book is.

---

hi, quite side from me, Evelyn!

here one of my siblings walked out and started a conversation with us about work, creepy marketing strategies on WordPress in which random people like random posts that other viewers might click on their profile and see their blog, and that awkward moment random people follow your blog you’re pretty sure don’t read it. It was quite lengthy and the important part that Kailey said “I would have been comfortable with having an interview even if I didn’t have a blog. Also because I like your followers. And I think they are very nice… I love your blog family.”

which is VERY true. despite there being so strange stranglers here and there, you guys are great, so shoutout to you all. 😉

also, while I’m not going to transcribe the entire conversation, I think it’s a pretty universal experience of feeling awkward about random people following one’s blog, so here’s to raising awareness that there are people out there who find and like random posts so that you might click on their profile, and even scammers with programs that will do it for them or spam your email or comments with advertisements.

back to favorite songs…

---

My favorite song of all time is Hearing by Sleeping At Last and my current favorite song is Sirens by Oliver Daldry.

(also another one of my hobbies is saying my punctuation marks out loud like “Oliver Daldry… d-a-l-d-r-y question mark” …mainly question marks).

Why do you like Hearing and Sirens?

Uhhhh haha. How long of an answer do you want?

A summary maybe?

Sirens because it’s about the sea and it’s just beautiful. Hearing because it reminds me of The Quiet Place and-

You were haunted by Quiet Place!! I made you watch it and you were haunted for life. 😆

I know! And I’m haunted by Hearing. It’s just the depth to it just literally a piece of art and poetry in hearing form.

Do you like how it has no words?

Yes.

It does have words actually in the background, but right it doesn’t have any lyrics.

Who are your current favorite artists?

1. Sleeping At Last
2. Cold Weather Company
3. Debussy
4. Rend Collective
5. And Gregory Allen Isakov (who I’ve been listening to just recently.)

You spend an afternoon at a café, what pastry and drink do you order?

I order a English or Irish breakfast tea and a danish.

What is your unique superpower?

My superpower is looking at strangers and figuring out which two people I know that their features are a mash of.

I put that question in solely so you could say that hehe.

Oh also one of my superpowers is making Minecraft villager sounds.

OH ALSO I am better at making squeaky door sounds than Evelyn.

NO THAT IS IS nOt TrUe

It is true.

That is so not true. You can never do it right. 😆

Maybe mine is just ~ different ~

Well mine was the original. I both invented and trademarked the squeaky door sound sO. Yours was the really cheap off-brand.

*couple second staring contest commences*

What is your favorite quote?

Lately my favorite has been from Moby Dick: “How then can this one small heart beat; this one small brain think thoughts, unless God does that beating, does that thinking, does that living, and not I.”

What is your favorite collector’s edition of books?

Macmillan’s classics editions. They are so small – small enough to put in a purse – and they have this beautiful golden painted edge. The pages are thin, but not in an annoying sense and they each have a nice ribbon bookmark.

Why did you start a blog?

Among a couple things (such as friends suggesting that I start one), to share my poetry and art.

What inspired the name of your blog?

The poetic clippet (phrase?) I once wrote, I think I’ll listen to the sky today.

Also because it was a free, available domain. xD

Would you be interested in sharing a piece of art or poem? (prettyyy please)

Any final thoughts?

*one minute silence*

I like y-sticks.

Also every single Charles Dickens character that has a dog is me.

She does like her y-sticks. Do not underestimate her y-stick love.

---

I hope you enjoyed that as much as we did! (It certainly got easier once I started recording the conversation so we could focus on the conversation and our crepes instead of me trying to keep up with the typing. xD)

The likelihood of poetry collaborations and exchange of posts between our two blogs in the future is 95.745% guaranteed to be frequent by our calculations so be forewarned.

If you somehow missed it, or skimmed this post, the link to her blog is right ✨h e r e✨

In closing, to quote myself on site at the launching of her blog: “Lot at sea: ‘I like salt!'”